Albert Pujols hitless in three at-bats with teammates in scoring position

Mike Trout, C.J. Cron drive in runs in Angels' loss

KEY MOMENTS: Three of them, the three times Albert Pujols batted with men in scoring position. He made an out each time, stranding five runners in all. Pujols leads the Angels with 26 runs batted in, but he is batting .182 with men in scoring position. He leads the team with 44 at-bats with men in scoring position; Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick each have 43 at-bats in that situation.

AT THE PLATE: Mike Trout doubled home two of the Angels' runs, and C.J. Cron had a solo home run for the other. Collin Cowgill, getting a chance to play the outfield every day because of injuries to Josh Hamilton and Kole Calhoun, walked twice and has reached base in nine of his past 14 plate appearances. Cowgill is batting .306 and has reached base in all but one of his 21 starts.

I've been seeing a lot of people talk about how Mike Trout isn't hitting right now and striking out a lot but really Pujols is the real problem. Trout started cooling down when Pujols went cold. He seems to be trying too hard now but even when Trout is slumping he's knocking in...

ON THE MOUND: C.J. Wilson, who leads the major leagues in pitches thrown, threw 116 on Monday, in six innings. His average is 116.25 pitches per game, with a low of 111 and a high of 125. He gave up five runs — on two swings, a three-run homer by Jose Bautista and a two-run homer by Brett Lawrie — and struck out eight. He also walked three, including the batter immediately preceding both home runs.

PUJOLS WATCH: The Angels played Pujols at DH for a second time in the four-game series. Pujols said he was "100%," and Manager Mike Scioscia said he was "just trying to be proactive with a little bit of maintenance" by keeping Pujols off the artificial turf. Blue Jays infielder Lawrie told Toronto reporters Pujols did not appear to be running freely. The Angels cannot use the DH in their next two games, in Philadelphia.

NOW PITCHING: The Angels called up right-hander Matt Shoemaker to start Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies, in the spot previously occupied by Hector Santiago, who was demoted to the bullpen last week. Shoemaker, 27, will make his second major league start. He is 1-0 with a 6.31 earned-run average in five starts at triple-A Salt Lake; he struck out 11 in his last start. Shoemaker will face four-time All-Star Cliff Lee on Tuesday and, if he makes a second start, would face Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price on Sunday.

ROSTER SHUFFLE: The Angels put infielder Ian Stewart on the disabled list because of a bruised left hand and recalled infielder Luis Jimenez from Salt Lake; Jimenez started at third base on Monday. The Angels will shuffle Jimenez, John McDonald and Grant Green at third base while awaiting the return of David Freese, who is unlikely to be activated when eligible Saturday because he has not yet resumed throwing. Freese is on the disabled list because of a fractured middle finger on his throwing hand. The Angels also will remove a player from their roster Tuesday — probably right-handed reliever Cory Rasmus — to clear a roster spot for Shoemaker.

Tuesday is homecoming day for Mike Trout, his first chance to play at the major league ballpark 40 miles from home. When the Angels' charter flight landed in Philadelphia early Tuesday morning, Trout was scheduled to go to his parents' house in Millville, N.J.

Mike Trout struck out four times on Sunday, and he enters play Monday tied for the American League lead in strikeouts. He is batting .128 in his past 11 games, with five hits and 14 strikeouts in his past 39 at-bats.

The recent story of Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little League team, their U.S. title taken away because some of their players lived outside the district they represented, struck a nerve with Phil Hart.